Jeremy Stettler
IAPMO President

PRESIDENT'S WELCOME MESSAGE

Come Home to IAPMO: Celebrating a Century Together
Serving as IAPMO president is a profound responsibility. To do so during our 100th anniversary year is the greatest honor of my professional life. One hundred years ago, on May 17, 1926, IAPMO was formed in Los Angeles with a bold mandate: to advance the latest and most improved methods of sanitation; to promote harmony between owners, builders, and craftspeople; to bring uniformity to the application of ordinances; and to ensure the mutual benefit of its members. A century later, our message is unchanged. We are still here to serve our members and to protect the health and safety of the communities who depend on our work.

That is why it feels especially meaningful to bring IAPMO’s 2026 Annual Education and Business Conference back to Los Angeles, the city where it all began. This year, we will gather at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, just minutes from our birthplace, to celebrate a century of progress and to chart the course for the next hundred years. There is something powerful about coming home. It reminds us that while our reach is now global, our foundation was built by dedicated professionals who believed deeply in collaboration, education, and public service.

I personally invite you to join us for this milestone event. Over the years, I have gained invaluable knowledge from the world-class education offered at our conferences — training that sharpens technical expertise, deepens code understanding, and prepares us for the challenges ahead. But these gatherings are about far more than education alone. They are about connection, shared purpose, and the relationships that strengthen our association and our industry.

Some of my favorite memories have come outside the meeting rooms: building friendships on the golf course during the Roscoe King Memorial Golf Tournament with my Kansas brothers, or sitting next to Jordan Krahenbuhl when that familiar leg twitch tells you he’s about to stand up and say exactly what needs to be said. Those moments of camaraderie and authenticity are part of what makes IAPMO special. During the conference, we learn the state of our organization, where it is headed, and how each of us plays a role in shaping its future. At 100 years strong, we know this milestone is not a finish line but a launching point.

What I cherish most, however, is the sense of family. IAPMO conferences bring together seasoned leaders and first-time attendees, inspectors and installers, engineers and manufacturers, all united by a shared commitment to public health. There is nothing better than welcoming someone to their first conference and watching them discover the same sense of belonging that has meant so much to me throughout my career. This association has shaped my professional life, and I know it has done the same for many of you.

As we gather in Universal City to celebrate our centennial, we will honor the legacy of those who came before us while setting our sights firmly on the future. Here’s to 100 years of progress and to an even brighter century ahead. I look forward to seeing you in Universal City as we come home to celebrate, to learn, and to continue the work that began in 1926.

Judaline Cassidy

Judaline Cassidy is a union plumber, feminist, speaker, and founder with a tool belt full of purpose and a heart built for impact. Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, she was one of the first three women accepted to study plumbing at the John Donaldson Technical Institute, now the University of Trinidad and Tobago. She was smashing barriers before she ever held a wrench in the United States.

In 1989, she immigrated to New York City with grit in her bones and big dreams in her carry-on. By 1996, she made history as one of the first women accepted into Plumbers Local 371 in Staten Island, and later, the first woman elected to the Examining Board of Plumbers Local Union No. 1 NYC. Today she proudly serves as an officer on the union's Executive Board, pushing for representation and inclusion from the inside out.

With over two decades in the trades, Judaline isn’t just skilled. She’s in love with the craft. From blueprints to blowtorches, plumbing gave her confidence, stability, and the kind of strength no one could take away. That’s exactly why she founded Tools & Tiaras^® in 2017: to expose young girls to the trades before society tries to convince them otherwise. Through weekend workshops and summer camps, girls as young as six have soldered copper, bent conduit, built toolboxes, and discovered they too can break barriers and build dreams.

In 2026, the construction industry made it official. Engineering News-Record named Judaline its Award of Excellence winner, the magazine’s highest annual honor, and one of its 2025 Top 25 Newsmakers. She joined a legacy of industry titans, the first woman plumber and tradeswoman-led nonprofit founder ever to receive the distinction. Her work has also been featured on CBS News, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” BBC America, PIX11, NJ12, and CNN's 2020 Champions for Change. Other major accolades include L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth (2023), CNN Champion for Change (2020), Regina V. Polk Women Labor Leadership Alumna of the Year (2019), Women Builders Council Outstanding Women Award (2018), and 92Y Extraordinary Women Rising Star (2018).

A longtime member of Plumbers Local Union No. 1 NYC, Judaline launched the union's first Women's Committee and served as its inaugural president. She also serves as a director of Gloria’s Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by Gloria Steinem, where she continues her mission of uplifting women and girls across every walk of life.

Her trademarked mantra, “Jobs Don't Have Genders^®,” is more than a phrase. It’s a movement. A rallying cry for every girl who’s ever been told she doesn’t belong in the room, the union, or the trades. And whether she’s giving a keynote, laying pipe, or handing a little girl her first screwdriver, Judaline is living proof that purpose, power, and pink safety goggles can absolutely co-exist.

IAPMO and Judaline partnered to create the first children’s coloring book focused exclusively on women plumbers to shift the perception of the trade for the next generation. The book’s narrative is inspired and guided by Judaline’s career, illustrating the benefits of skilled plumbing from medical gas systems in hospitals to advanced water conservation technologies. The book serves as a recruitment tool to address the skilled labor shortage by showing young girls that plumbing is a purposeful, lucrative, and "superhero" career. The book is available as a free download in English and Spanish to help parents and educators introduce kids to modern hygiene infrastructure.